York businesses upskill with help from Google

York’s medieval Hospitium played host to Google’s Digital Garage on Thursday 18 May, as over 75 local businesses gathered for a day of digital skills training.

Thursday’s event saw Google’s expert trainers guide businesses through a range of innovative ways to attract new customers and take their brand to new heights. Attendees learned how to harness the power of video marketing, craft engaging narratives on social media and use Google Analytics technology to measure online engagement.

The event marked the end of a series of four free digital training events- three online and one in-person- that were organised this spring by City of York Council, in collaboration with Google UK. Further events are already being planned for autumn 2023.

The Google Digital Garage is one of Google's flagship investment programmes in the UK, helping businesses and individuals learn free digital skills through a range of courses and one-to-one sessions.

Google mentors and City of York Council Business Growth Managers were on hand throughout the day to offer personalised support and advice to businesses.

Between sessions, attendees networked over lunch, enjoying refreshments in the fourteenth-century Hospitium building and the surrounding Museum Gardens.

The support offered by this programme of events does not end with the sessions themselves; businesses that have attended any of the four training sessions have also been able to sign up for free one-to-one support from Google.

The Google Digital Garage is one of Google's flagship investment programmes in the UK, helping businesses and individuals learn free digital skills through a range of courses or one-to-one sessions.

This event forms part of City of York Council’s business support offer, after the council received £130,000 for 2022/23 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This is one of several initiatives using the funding to help businesses in the city thrive.

Neil Ferris, Corporate Director of Place at City of York Council, said:

“The events we have run this spring alongside Google have empowered over 400 York businesses to build their brand online and grow their business.

“Given the success of our recent training events, we’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with Google and organising more events later this year.”

Debbie Weinstein, Managing Director of Google UK & Ireland, said:

“Digital technologies are truly transformative and can help businesses and individuals across the UK to increase their earnings, boost their productivity and unlock their full potential.”

"As a former business owner myself, I understand how tough it is to know where to turn to for advice. That's why we're providing hands-on support as part of our nationwide digital skills drive to help equip more people with invaluable skills that help to create jobs and economic opportunities."

Paul Henderson, Partnership Manager at Upskill Digital

“We are proud to be working in partnership with the City of York Council to bring the Google Digital Garage training to York to support businesses to grow.”

Read more about Google Digital Garage here.

To be the first to find out about upcoming events for businesses, as well as the latest business news, you can sign up to receive City of York Council’s weekly email update at: https://www.york.gov.uk/form/EmailUpdates.